Stamping Around Newsletter of the Mid-Cities Stamp Club Arlington Meetings: First Wednesday @ 7:00 p.m. Bob Duncan Center, 2800 S. Center St. Euless Meetings: Third Wednesday @ 7:30 p.m. 12750 S. Pipeline Rd, #1C (Central Station Marketing) CHAPTER Lake Granbury Meetings: 4th Tuesday @ 7:00 p.m. MEMBER Bentwater Activities Center (adjacent to Bentwater Marina) #891-076252 #90 #53-3364 Volume 34, Number 6 http://www.mid-citiesstampclub.com June 2021 Topical of the Month: Sri Lanka and also The Covid-19 Pandemic issued the Covid- By Peter Elias 19 related stamps seen here. It’s been a while since I wrote an article in the “Topical of the Month” series, and it’s now been well over a year that the planet has been gripped by the Covid-19 pandemic. When you Starting sometime in early 2020, look at the Nether- various countries started issuing stamps to lands Covid-19 stamp commemorate first responders, advise to the left, your first thought is that it is a wearing masks and other topics relating to “traditional” stamp with perforations and regu- Covid-19. lar “lick & stick” gum. While the perforations The stamp at left are traditional, it is actually a self-adhesive above shows the world surrounded by Covid-19 particle. stamp, as the photo of the A “2020- backside shows it has an un- 2021” stamp from dulating die-cut that lets you the Netherlands remove the backing paper. replaces the 0’s This is really innovative; I wish with the Covid-19 the USPS would do this (in particle, and combination with using tradi- r e a d s tional perforations! “Bye” (above the If you are looking for a new topic to collect or even work 2 0 2 0 ) a n d on a new topical or thematic exhibit, then give Covid-19 a shot “Hello” (above (pun intended!). The stamps shown here are just a start, and the 2021). I re- there’s “postal history” to be had as well. ceived this enve- lope from Cees Prins, a fellow collector in the Netherlands that also sent me the Article Index Page # other Netherlands Covid-19 stamp shown in this article. Topical Of The Month: Covid-19 Pandemic 1 T h e Editor’s Forum 2 issued a pair of Calendar & Secretary’s Report 2 “mask” stamps Lear More About Your Hobby 3 where the design Unhinged 3 on each mask Been There - Done That (Speed Limits, Part 2) 3 represents first TV Philately - Paycheck 4 responders or essential employees. Club Meeting Minutes 5, 7, 8 T h e Stamp Scanning 5 United Nations Member & Dealer Ads 6, 13, 14 also issued this Comic Strip - Mother Goose (Mailman Flavored Food) 7 souvenir sheet of Analysis Of A Special Deal 8 6. But ordering Been There - Done That (Monte Bre) 9 from the UN Been There - Done That (Basilica Santa Croce) 10 Postal Administra- tion was difficult Been There - Done That (Swiss Guards) 10 last year, as many Been There - Done That (St. Vincent) 10 of their employ- Been There - Done That (Campden Park Post Office) 11 ees were working Been There - Done That (Covid-19 Masks & Vaccine) 12 from home and Been There - Done That (Niagara Falls) 12 could not actually Been There - Done That (Postcrossing) 12 fulfill the many Meet & Eat Info 14 Stampingorders which were Around piling up at, June UN Headquarters. 2021 Page 1 Editor’s Forum Stamping Around By Peter Elias Newsletter of the Mid-Cities Stamp Club Peter Elias, Editor ([email protected]) Someone stop me! Just after finishing last month’s newsletter, and the “Been Stamping Around is published monthly by the Mid-Cities Stamp There - Done That” article about speed limits, memory Club. Material in this newsletter may be reproduced in other served up the fact that in 1984 I had driven at 90 mph philatelic publications if the source is acknowledged. Opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily repre- continuously for 3 hours in , and hence, another sent those of the Mid-Cities Stamp Club or its officers. “Been That..” article. Hopefully some day I’ll write about stamps and 2021 - 2022 MID-CITIES OFFICERS places such as St. Vincent, London Tower & Bridge, 200 & BOARD OF DIRECTORS year old Swiss coins, Karl Marx, the “Metro”, the “Tube”, Svarovski crystals, Covid trash, Horatio Nelson, Swiss President – Richard Hildebrandt First Vice-President – Stanley Christmas cows, canoeing, the Grand Canyon, Toronto, viaducts, Second Vice–President – Rick Howell Venice, Bermuda light houses, windmills on Nevis, Wil- Secretary – Skip Ely liam Tell, Legos, various Swiss subjects and others … If Treasurer – Judy Christmas only I could quit finding additional stuff to write about! As I mentioned before, look through your photos Board of Directors (voting): of places & things (perhaps even people…) and see if Ken Aldridge Peter Elias Ken Wills Immediate Past President: Ray Cartier you can relate any of them to a stamp, postmark or other philatelic item. I’d like to think that these articles (in addi- Membership in the Mid-Cities Stamp Club is available to anyone tion to hopefully being entertaining…) will inspire some of of good character interested in philately. Feel free to attend any of you to submit your own articles. If you need assistance, our 3 different meeting sites in the greater Dallas / Ft. Worth area! please feel free to contact me! Dues are only $12 per year (higher for mailed newsletters). For more information, the editor is reachable during business hours at (972) 671-0077 or : [email protected] EXPO 2021 Update We now have all 3 APS judges lined up: Patrick For a membership application (standard dues are $12) write to: Walters, Dr. Stephen Washburne & Colin Fraser. Mid-Cities Stamp Club P.O. Box 2158 Errata Arlington, TX 76004-2158 By Peter Elias or visit: http://www.mid-citiesstampclub.com In the May 2021 issue, page 6, Germany #1617 is described as commemorating the unification of Germany, it Coming Attractions should have been described as commemorating the opening of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. Thanks to reader —> We are starting to get back in to “in-person” meet- Otto Bergman for pointing out the error on my part. ings starting in June. Data below is believed to be cor- rect at time of publication; for updated MCSC meeting statuses, please contact club secretary Skip Ely. Secretary’s Report 2021 By Skip Ely Applications Received MAY 25 MCSC - LAKE GRANBURY Virtual Mtg Program: TBD n/a JUN. 2 MCSC - ARLINGTON In-person Meeting New Members Program: TBD n/a JUN. 16 MCSC - EULESS In-person Meeting Deceased Program: TBD n/a JUN. 19 MCSC - EXPO Planning Meeting (11 AM) Reinstatements Spring Creek BBQ, S. Cooper St., Arlington n/a JUN. 22 MCSC - LAKE GRANBURY In-person Mtg Program: Clean Out Your Closet Membership Summary – May 19, 2021 JUN. 25 - 26 TSDA Stamp Fair (Fri 10-5, Sat 9-4) Membership as of April 21, 2021 90 Bluebonnet Room, DoubleTree Hotel, 1981 N Central Ewy, Applications Received 0 Richardson, TX 75081 (SW corner of US75 & Campbell Rd) New Members 0 JUL. 7 MCSC - ARLINGTON In-person Meeting Dropped for non-payment of dues ( 0 ) Program: TBD Resignations 0 JUL. 21 MCSC - EULESS In-person Meeting Deceased ( 0 ) Program: TBD Reinstatements 0 JUL. 27 MCSC - LAKE GRANBURY In-person Mtg Membership as of May 19, 2021 90 Program: TBD

Stamping Around, June 2021 Page 2 Learn More About Your Hobby. Speed Limits, part 2 Join the American Philatelic Society By Peter Elias By Ray E. Cartier In last (APS Ambassador to the MCSC) month’s (May 2021) issue, I w r o t e a b o u t The American Philatelic Society has just an- speed limits. Un- nounced a recruitment Award contest for 2021. They will fortunately these have a drawing in early 2022 to give away three lifetime articles are usu- memberships to APS members who recruit new mem- ally constrained bers to the APS. One award goes to dealers; a second by the amount of goes to new members and a third goes to existing APS space available members or clubs. on the page. Collecting as a loner is ok. But the more you What I know about philately, the more you grow in your didn’t mention for example, was that the fastest that I have hobby. Because of belonging to the APS, I have learned driven continuously was probably in the car shown in the a lot about EFOs (errors, freaks and oddities). As a re- PhotoStamp above. It was a 1977 Fiat 128 3p (“3 porta” in sult, even though that is not one of my major interests, I Italian = 3 doors). It was a hatchback that I had bought dur- have noticed an imperf on a letter that was actually ing my 3 month internship in Germany in the Fall of 1984. mailed to me, and I have noticed a few panes of color shifts in stamps I bought, which I would never have thought about. Just recently I noted a sheet from the bi- centennial issues that has muted colors compared to an- other sheet. I’ve sold some of the color shifts and used the money to enhance my own space cover collec- tion. But there is so much good information in their monthly magazine, “The American Philatelist” that you’ll find something of interest in most issues. The original picture I took of the So, if you are a member, try to recruit someone car right after I bought it. else to join the APS and get their great annual magazine. You may eventually be enticed to visit one of the huge During my 3-month stay, which was in Mühlheim a. stamp shows that they put on, especially since they have d. Ruhr, I stayed with a German family. There was one tied the American Topical Association (ATA) and weekend where I wanted to visit someone I had previously the American First Day Cover Society (AFDCS) team up met in Switzerland and who lived near Stuttgart, which was to present the biggest annual show in the country in a around 450 kilometers (280 miles) away. I remember that Chicago Suburb from August 12 to 15 (Four Days)! when returning from that trip, I made it back to Mühlheim in 3 hours; meaning that I drove at an average speed of 93 My mph for 3 hours. Mind you now, that was after dark, and in Unhinged a car with only a 4-cylinder 1.3 liter engine rated at 75 horse- By Peter Elias power and a listed top speed of 99 mph. ..worth Usually the “recommended speed limit” (if not When you hear “unhinged” marked otherwise) on the Autobahn is 130 km/h (85 mph). what do you think of? “Highly dis- Not sure what it was on that stretch, that night… turbed, unstable or distraught” (as per These days, they have “variable” speed limits, an- Merriam-Webster)? Well, not in this case: I was reading nounced on electronic speed limit signs mounted overhead, an article in the July-August 2019 edition of “The Cir- such as this photo from 2010 shows. At this point, we were cuit” (the journal of the ISWSC - International Society of doing 0 mph, due to an accident ahead. Worldwide Stamp Collectors), where the author wrote And what happened to that 1977 Fiat 128 3p in about problems as to how and what to collect as far as 1984? Oh... a slight accident shortly before I had to return stamps goes: such as condition, mint or used, watermark to the USA.... It solved the problem of having to sell the car, varieties and “unhinged versus hinged”. which didn’t pass the “TÜV” inspection, but then again, the That was really the first time that I recall seeing car only cost me $400 (+gas & insurance), certainly cheaper “unhinged” in regards to stamps. Usually we refer to mint than a rental for 3 stamps that do not have hinge marks or hinge remnants months . And after the as being “never hinged”. insurance settlement, To me “unhinged” in regards to a stamp might only $50 (+cost of traf- imply that the stamp had previously been hinged, and thus fic fine)! Moral of the now is “no longer hinged”. “Unhinged” (in stamp terms) story: if something falls would imply something different than “never hinged”. from the seat to the Note: (and Merriam-Webster does NOT make a floor, don’t look at it reference to stamps in their definition!). while driving! I liked the car though! Stamping Around, June 2021 Page 3 TV Philately - Paycheck 5) The postage of $2.50 depicted on the envelope may By Peter Elias or may not be correct (although doubtful); the enve- lope contained all sorts of items that would surely Browsing through my “Prime Video” selections, I have pushed it past whatever $2.50 got you in that came across a movie called “Paycheck”, which was re- year as a first class “large envelope” or “package”. leased in 2003. It stars Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman, According to a historical rates look up, a 9 ounce 1st Aaron Eckhart & Paul Giamatti. The movie is an adaption class package would have cost $2.53. Based on the of a 1953 short story by Philip K. Dick (whose works also materials shown elsewhere in the movie, it’s hard to include “Bladerunner” amongst others). say what the weight of those items are. “Paycheck” is a science fiction movie about a 6) The postmark shown, seems to be a wavy line cancel “reverse engineer” who gets hired to reverse engineer that doesn’t quite look real and no dates are visible, products for companies. He then gets his memory although “Seattle” is visible (and the movie does take “wiped” so that he remembers nothing from when his “job” place there). started. In the movie, he is offered a 3-year contract to develop some device (which we won’t know about). Shortly after being introduced to people in the facility, he is all of a sudden back in the office of the employer who tells him he’s finished his job and it is now 3 years later. When he goes to collect his earnings (stocks in the com- pany) he is told that he gave that stock away and was given an envelope which supposedly had his belongings from when he started the “job”. Instead the envelope con- tained various items that seemed random and not what he turned in 3 years ago.

At around 36 minutes, a better view of the whole envelope is shown (above). The address is fictitious and I could not find a Burrard Street in Seattle (although one exists a few miles further north in Vancouver, BC (). The zip code of 98117 is in the north Seattle area called Ballard, which I’m a bit familiar with, since I used to have a customer there…).

Above is the first glance at this envelope (at around 26 minutes), a large manila envelope bearing what looks like 5 USA “Einstein” stamps. To the left be- low is a rotated look at the 2nd & 3rd stamps from the screen shot above. These “fake” stamps do bear some resemblance to the 15¢ Einstein stamp There are various other shots of this envelope from 1979 (Scott through out the movie, as it does play an important role. #1774), but only in At 77 minutes, the main character is looking closely at the the sense that they depict Einstein and the word USA. As stamps, and finds that he had hidden an image in the eye usual, several things are wrong: of Einstein. 1) The movie stamps are “imperforate” vs. “”perforated”. So why an Einstein stamp? This movie relates 2) There is a double border around the entire stamp im- to seeing into the future and plays into Einstein’s “theory age, whereas the real stamp doesn’t have one. of relativity”. But otherwise, as usual, the movie “props” 3) Einstein is facing you (instead of facing to the right). department did not get a lot of things right (except in the 4) The 50¢ denomination is incorrect for 2007 when this sense that, yes, there was a USA Einstein stamp). movie takes place (should be either 39¢ or 41¢ de- More details about the movie can be found at pending on when in 2007 this takes place). Wikipedia.com and at IMDB.com.

Stamping Around, June 2021 Page 4 MCSC Granbury Zoom Meeting Minutes Joe McFarland, John Withers, Sai Madhavapeddi and Rick Howell. April 27, 2021 Adjournment: By Skip Ely  The meeting ended at 7:55 PM. The Mid Cities Stamp Club held a virtual meeting via Zoom on the above date. Stamp Scanning Call-To-Order: By Peter Elias  Dave Stockbridge called the meeting to order promptly at 7:00 PM. He announced that the May For years, when I needed to scan a stamp for illustrat- ing an article, I simply choose the default setting on my scan- 25th Granbury meeting would be via Zoom again, but ner, which is set at “300 dpi” (dots per inch) resolution and “text that in-person meetings would commence in June and & image”. What I got, is #1 below. Looks kind of fuzzy & out of continue through November. Programs are needed and invited. At least one auction will likely be sched- 1 uled, probably in August or September. 2 Attendance:  Participating were Dave Stockbridge, Rick Howell, Judy & Stanley Christmas, Joe McFarland, Fred Ekenstam, Bob Coleman, Sai Madhavapeddi, Gary McNamee, Ken Aldridge, John Withers and Skip Ely. Show & Tell:  Stanley Christmas showed a cover with a Martin Van Buren cachet on a 4½¢ Presidential stamp (error).  Fred Ekenstam showed two patriotic covers, one in black and white, and the other painted in water color. Fred also talked about a recent acquisition of patriotic covers he had obtained.  Joe McFarland showed a package cover with a “No 3 4 Fly” sticker on it.  Ken Aldridge showed baseball brochures issued by the USPS to promote the Legends of Baseball SS in 2000, and how he had acquired one card for each of the 28 U.S. Major League Teams via a lottery organ- ized by John Hotchner and Linn’s. Ken also talked about getting the signature of famed engraver Czesław Słania when he attended a 2004 stamp show in Arizona.  Sai Madhavapeddi talked about his acquisition of the 2012-2016 “War of 1812” Souvenir Sheets from both the U.S. and Canada.  Dave Stockbridge showed a cover that flew on one of focus, right? Then I decided to switch the setting to the German Zeppelin routes from Frankfort to New “photo” (instead of “image & text”), and I got what you see in #2 above. Quite an improvement! At this point, if you’re looking at York City in 1936. He also mentioned he had recently this newsletter on a screen, try zooming in a bit to see the de- received the ISWSC newsletter and their upcoming tails better. mail bid auction. I then switched the resolution up to 600 dpi (effectively  Gary McNamee talked about a newsletter he enjoys 4 times the resolution of 300 dpi), but still left it at “image & called “The Stamp Collector.” text”. #3 above is the result. Certainly a bit less out-of-focus “Where in the World Is It?” than #1, but still worse than #2 despite being at a higher resolu-  Gary McNamee gave the clues for this regular fea- tion! ture, and Rick Howell correctly identified Ghana. Next I tried “600 dpi” resolution and with the setting at “photo”, resulting in #4 above. Definitely quite an improvement Announcements: over the previous 3 settings. The various engraving lines really  Judy Christmas reminded everyone about the Arling- seem sharp with this setting! ton meeting May 5 will be in person. The program will For many publications, while 300 dpi is be “Clean Out Your Closet”. Meet & Eat will be at generally thought to be ok, but the “photo” vs. Campo Verde. [Editor’s Note: The Meet & Eat will be “image & text” setting on my Epson WF-7620 Program: scanner really makes a difference! To the right  Rick Howell presented a video program titled “The is the actual size of this stamp, so some of the detail may not show up as well even if it is set to Top Ten Most Unusual Stamps.” 600 dpi. The 600 dpi setting will of course bring Gift Certificates: out a lot of the details better, but only when seen in an enlarge-  ... were awarded to Bob Coleman, Fred Ekenstam, ment, such as what I’ve shown above.

Stamping Around, June 2021 Page 5 CLASSIFIED BOURSE For Sale I now have a new website in which I have listed all my used Announcements duplicates (many thousands). They are arranged in Scott number sequence within country. Do take a look, and select any that you want. I charge 1/3 catalogue value, post paid. The All club members that are current with their dues payments are URL is www.kenwills.net Contact me at [email protected]. entitled to FREE ads in this space! Please send ad to: Peter Happy hunting! 3/19 Elias, P.O. Box 940427, Plano, TX 75094-0427, give it to me at a meeting, or e-mail me at: [email protected] Philatelic Reference CD’s. The following self-running, phila- telic reference CD’s, each containing hundreds of scans, are For Sale now available: US POSTAGE – from our huge surplus: 1c – 20c : 70% of  APC Conversions 2012-2014 (NY2016 Vermeil Award!) FV; 21c – 50c : 80% of FV. Send any amount (min $10),  Usage of British Empire War Tax Issues (exhibit) specify group (70%, 80%), and receive mix of values back in FV  Airport Philately (800+ scans of Airports on Stamps) as indicated above. Clean, F/VF only. Plate or Zip block in-  4 Rings—The History of Audi (Great for any car lover!) cluded for every $10 remitted. Remit (check or MO) to: J. Myers, P. O. Box 2047, Coppell, TX 75019. TX orders, add 8%  My Life on Wheels (autobiography via USA personalized sales tax. We cover return postage, S/H charges. Can also postage) take PayPal (same terms). [email protected] 5/15  St. Vincent Philatelic Reference Scans (1,700 items!!)  St. Vincent (300+ postcards from 1900 to 2007)  Vintage Swiss Postcards 1898-1959 (900+ postcards !!) Wanted to Trade Special MCSC Member price is only $ 9.95 each. Non- members -> please inquire. Contact [email protected] 1/21 I have general (unsorted) worldwide & used USA stamps (mostly beginning collector material) available to trade for your MOVED, BUT SALE CONTINUES! Special discounts to MCSC items such as worldwide revenue stamps & Framas. Contact members for Swiss, Austria, Liechtenstein issues, @ 1/3 and Peter Elias at [email protected] 9/16 LESS of catalog values. Also will accept US postage (any val- ues) @ 50% of catalog. All orders postpaid! I also accept Pay- Wanted Pal if you wish! John Barrett, Ph.D. Contact info: jstrubel- [email protected] 12/14

Postally used “ATM” stamps (i.e.: machine vended), such as Canadian Collection housed in Scott Specialty Single Framas, from around the world; would prefer on cover or post- Country Album. Starts with Scott#18 through 1970. Mostly card if possible. Contact Peter Elias at mint, some used. 2013 Scott catalog value is $4,100, now re- [email protected] 8/14 duced to $775 OBO!. Will accept US postage at face value as part payment. Contact Dave Linn, (903) 785-7864 or at [email protected] 8/19 Comic Strip - Mother Goose & Grimm (Mailman Flavored Dog Food) By Peter Elias

This Mother Goose & Grimm comic strip was published in the Dallas Morning News on November 26, 2019, 2 days prior to Thanksgiving (November 28), so it is an entirely “appropriate” comic, continuing the on-going sage of Grimm (the dog) and his quest for chasing (or biting) mailmen (or otherwise in this case!). Makes you wonder what flavor food in turn mailmen like … hmm, well in certain parts of Asia … ok, ok, joke….; but go ahead and look it up: https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-39577557

Stamping Around, June 2021 Page 6 MCSC Arlington Zoom Meeting Minutes  Sales - Skip Ely said our APS books had arrived in time after a mix up and delay. May 5, 2021 Announcements: By Skip Ely  Dave Stockbridge said the Granbury meeting on May 25th would still be virtual, but they would begin in- Attendance: person meetings with the June 22 meeting.  22 members participated in the first live meeting at  Ken Aldridge said he could do a program in June. the Bob Duncan Center since November 2020.  Rick Howell said he had videos to show if necessary. Officer Reports: Show & Tell:  President - Rich Hildebrandt began the meeting at  Rich Hildebrandt showed a USPS Priority Mail Box 7:07 PM. He said the next meeting would be posted with a lot of stamps (unfortunately, they were Wednesday, June 2. We are scheduling an auction cancelled with a magic marker). for July, so lots need to be turned in to Skip by the  Stanley Christmas said he had some international next meeting. If the lots are bulky, they can be kept covers available to anyone who wants them. by the owner until the meeting; just give Skip a rough  Ray Cartier showed some covers with space themed description of the lot. Remember, TEN lots per per- cachets. son.  Peter Elias had a clear, plastic, USPS Priority Mail  Librarian - Rich said we are in need of an office librar- envelope (used primarily to mail Corporate annual ian to handle check-in and check-out of catalogs and company reports). He also showed a adver- the like at the meetings. A small task, but an impor- tisement from the Isle of Man. He also talked about tant one. the new USA Star Wars Droids Souvenir Sheets, and  Programs - He also said we were in need of programs how he was able to get a postmarked, first day of is- (contact him if you would like to offer one). sue deck card (but unfortunately was not able to order  Secretary – Skip Ely said our membership stood at any non-diecut press sheets). 90.  Ken Aldridge showed a collection of city baseball bro-  Treasury – Judy Christmas gave the treasury amount. chures that were issued in 2001 in association with  Committee Reports: the Legends of Baseball Souvenir Sheet.  EXPO:  Ralph Poore showed two RPO-type covers and talked  Ralph Poore said we had a productive Expo meet- about their place in postal history. ing May 24, and another was scheduled for June Gift Certificates: 19.  Were awarded to Bob Weidman, Sai Madhavapeddi,  Peter Elias said he had commitments from three Dave Stockbridge, Rich Hildebrandt, Karen Cartier, judges for exhibits. Ray Cartier asked people plan- Andy Lacko, Judy Christmas and Ralph Poore. ning exhibits to let him know so he can start allo- Program: cating frames. Rich Hildebrandt said he didn’t have  ...was our annual “Clean Out Your Closet”, postponed a menu for the awards dinner yet, but we would be from January. having one. Adjournment:  Newsletter - Peter Elias said the next newsletter was  The meeting concluded about 8:30 PM. well underway.

Stamping Around, June 2021 Page 7 Analysis of a Special Deal MCSC Euless Zoom Meeting Minutes By Dave Stockbridge May 19, 2021 By Skip Ely Back near the beginning of the Covid virus lock- down, club member Ben Termini offered a “Special Deal” Attendance: to club members. The deal was, if you sent him a self-  8 members and 1 guest participated in the first live addressed stamped envelope, he would fill it with stamps meeting for Euless in over a year. One additional and send it back to you. Absolutely free! member checked in via Zoom. I took Ben up on his offer and the following is Call-to-Order: what I received. I sent him an envelope with 75 cents  First Vice President Stanley Christmas opened the postage so he could enclose up to 2 oz. of stamps. I re- meeting at 7:35 PM. ceived 350 stamps from 101 issuing entities. I collect Officer Reports: stamps, both mint and used, from 170 stamp issuing enti-  Treasury – Judy Christmas gave the treasury ties including both current and dead counties. amount. Of the 350 stamps, 177 (50.5%) of those re- ceived were from 45 of the countries I collect. The follow-  Secretary – Skip Ely said our membership stood at ing is a breakdown of what I received: 90. Committee Reports:  52 countries had 1 stamp – total 52 stamps.  EXPO:  20 countries had 2 stamps – total 40 stamps.  Stanley Christmas said he had reviewed the atten-  15 countries had 3 to 5 stamps – total 56 stamps. dance sheets from the 2020 Expo and was sur-  7 countries had 6 to 10 stamps – total 54 stamps. prised to see about thirty percent seemed to be  5 countries had 11 to 20 stamps – total 71 stamps. new participants. He also mentioned the next  22 stamps were from , which I don’t collect. Expo planning meeting June 19 at Spring Creek  44 stamps were from , which I do collect. BBQ on Cooper Street in Arlington. Of the 350 stamps examined I  Peter Elias said he had commitments from three added 5 to my collec- judges for exhibits. tions. Another 5 were  Newsletter - Peter Elias said the next newsletter was determined to be dam- well underway. aged and sent to the  Sales - Skip Ely said we had good sales from the trash can. APS books this month. He also mentioned that he Of the group had two new club books from Jess Jessop. the most challenging to  Website - Evan Islam provided an overview of the identify are pictured new webpage that his team and member Jim Myers here. They are a par- had put together. All agreed it was very, very nice. tial set of stamps with Show & Tell: writing that I can’t deci- pher other than the number. I  Stanley Christmas said he had some international finally found that these covers available to anyone who wants them. stamps, some containing the  Peter Elias showed some stamp replica magnets he hammer and sickle, were had obtained from his local post office. He also used in Armenia in 1922. showed deck cards from two recent USPS issues. He However, they all lack the also showed a clear, plastic, USPS flat rate mailing black handstamp surcharge envelope. for Scott # 334-343. Nota-  Ken Wills showed an envelope from a friend of his in tions in Scott are that these Canada completely covered with overlapped five cent were issued for postal tax pur- stamps (must have been close to 100 on there). He poses and are known to exist also showed of cover he had mailed from Ireland to without England, and how it happened to come about. sur- Gift Certificates: charge  Were awarded to Janet Moyer, Ken Wills, Rick How- but are ell and Stanley Christmas. not Adjournment: known to have been issued in  The meeting ended about 8:30 PM. that condition. It is also noted that counterfeits exist. Thank you, Ben for several hours of enjoyment with philately. If you are interested in receiving this “special deal” send an envelope to Ben. His address is in the club directory.

Stamping Around, June 2021 Page 8 Monte Bre shade and would have probably looked a bit dark and so I By Peter Elias asked Annie to turn on the flash in the camera. Unfortunately I did not take a picture of that This 1938 stamp from Swit- church. Continuing to walk on a nice wooded path past zerland, Scott #243 shows a view the church, we eventually did reach the village of of Lake Lugano & Monte San Sorengo. Well, it was perhaps only a ½ mile walk … Salvatore, a view that Annie & I had back in the summer of 2010 during our visit to Europe.

I took the photo from a slightly higher view point than the stamp, but we did see that little We strolled around the village a bit and did church, known as visit a church there, whose name I don’t recall. Maria Assunta. The But, “Google to the rescue”, and I found the name church dates back to the end of the 11th Century and is a of the church in Serengo that I’m standing in front of in the part of the village of picture above. It is “Chiesa dei Santi Simone e Fedele” Sorengo, a kind of “suburb” and was built in medieval times and mentioned for the first of Lugano. time in 1591. To get to this view point, one has to take the inclined railway up from the lake level to Monte Bre. The church is lo- cated about 200 feet east of the station. Ok, but for those of you not familiar with Swit- zerland, we’re lo- cated in the south- ern part near the border of (which was less than 2 miles from where the pictures on this page are taken and Above: An interior view of the church. is shown by the line running through the lake in the Back to the stamp: in addition to the church and Google map above). Lake Lugano, it also shows Monte San Salvatore, which can be reached by either walking or taking the funicular (inclined railway) that was built in 1890. I’m sure that the view is spectacular, but on this 3-day trip to this part of Switzerland, we just didn’t have the time. Another thing that we did not get to do during this visit isn’t really visible on the stamp. Well, because it did- n’t exist in 1938…. It is “Swissminiatur”, which opened in 1959. What it is, is a recreation of Switzerland in minia- ture, 1:25 scale, and features 128 models of Swiss monu- ments, buildings & transportation. It is located in the mid- dle of the causeway that goes across Lake Lugano. And yes, there are palm trees in this part of Switzerland; here I’m stand- The picture above was also taken near the ing by the hotel church, as both pictures show the causeway running that we stayed through Lake Lugano. And yes, it does look like I’m at in nearby “photoshopped” into that picture. I was standing in the Gandria. Stamping Around, June 2021 Page 9 Basilica Santa Croce Swiss Guards By Pat & Bob Weidman By Pat & Bob Weidman The construction the Basilica Switzerland Scott #1224-1225 (see below) were Santa Croce in Florence, Italy, was be- issued on November 22, 2005 for the 500th anniversary gun in the year 1294 by the Francis- of the Swiss Papal Guards. The Swiss actually started cans. The Basilica was designed by the providing protection of the pope back in the 1400’s. It Gothic master Arnolfo di Cambrio. It wasn’t until 1506 that Pope Julius II secured the position was being built to rival the Santa Maria of the Swiss Guards by way of a treaty with the Swiss Novello, which was built across town by cantons of Lucerne and Zürich. the Dominicans. It was not consecrated until the year 1442 and remained face- less until the year 1857 when the neo- Gothic façade was added. The Basilica Santa Croce contains the tombs of many famous Florentines, including Michelangelo Buon- arroti and Galileo. The pope wanted Michelangelo, who died in 1564 at the age of 89, to be buried in Rome. However, his body was carried off by the Florentines who wanted him buried in Florence.

The role of the Swiss Guards has changed over the years. Today they are the Pontifical Swiss Guards and carry out many duties in the Vatican City. In 2013, Pat and I visited the Vatican on our vacation to Italy,. In the picture are two of the Swiss Guards. Notice that the uni- forms are just like the ones on the stamps! The style of the uniforms today is still medieval.

St. Vincent By Peter Elias If you have travelled outside of the USA, then you should at least be able to find a stamp from the country in question by looking at the United Nations series of flag stamps. In this case, UN#529, featuring “St. Vincent”. I’ve personally been to St. Vincent twice (including twice to Bequia Island, one of the Grenadines - see the picture of the “Old Fort” to the right), in 1993 and again in 2007 (as part of a meeting of the British Caribbean Philatelic Study Group that was held there). It’s definitely a place I’d love to visit The photo was taken on our 2013 trip to Italy. again (especially since they now have an The stamp is Italy (Scott) #2028 and was issue on May 3, airport capable of serving jet airplanes). The 1995. island has been in the news lately due to the eruption of Mt. Soufriere (which last erupted -> The President’s Report will return next month in 1979), so a trip might have to wait...

Stamping Around, June 2021 Page 10 Campden Park Post Office By Peter Elias

Campden Park is a small vil- lage northwest of Kingstown, the capi- tal city of St. Vincent (West Indies). Like many villages in St. Vin- cent, it had its own post office (see photo to the right) which I saw briefly in May 2007 driving by there with Annie while we were on any changes took place.. Sometimes it would take many our way to get to the months for these covers to come back to me. I think they movie set used in the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean”. just processed my requests whenever they felt like getting On October 31, 2009, the St. Vincent Postal Cor- around to them… poration shut down 25 out of 54 post offices on the main island and 2 out of the 7 post offices on the Grena- dines of St. Vincent in order to con- solidate mail processing and save on costs. The postmark to the right is the last-day-of-service one from this post office. According to the book St. Lucia & St. Vincent Postal History (published in 2006) by Joe Chin Aleong and Edward Proud, the Campden Park post office opened as a district post office December 1, 1973. The stamp to the left has a The cover shown above is one that I received 1980’s strike of the Campden Park post- back in 1998. I had put enough postage on the cover to mark. The handwritten “28” might be have it include registration fees, but apparently they didn’t because the “day” slug was missing in have any registration labels, so they simply wrote R#3062 the canceller, and they subsequently on the envelope. had to write the day on the stamp... As a side note, I once met one of the co-authors of the aforementioned book, Joe Chin Aleong, who lived on Trinidad, when I had a business trip to that island in 1999. The other author, Edward Proud, lives in the , and I was asked to aid in ed- iting a portion of the book relating to St. Vincent; I also provided various older black & white photographs of St. Vincent offices for the book (that in turn had been given to me by the late Dr. Gale Raymond, one of the Mid-Cities Stamp Club EXPO judges back in the 1990’s. Back to Campden Park. A few years ago; well, 20+ years ago, when I was a bit more involved in studying A year later, in 1999, they managed to have reg- St. Vincent postal history in-depth, I often sent out SASE’s istration labels! Based on the registration numbers, to the various post offices and requested that they send Campden Park processed less than 100 outbound regis- them back to me with nice postmarks so that I can see if tered envelopes between the above two envelopes!

Stamping Around, June 2021 Page 11 Covid-19 Masks & Vaccines Niagara Falls By Peter Elias By Pat & Bob Weidman

I suppose that this “Been Back on May 12, There…” article can apply to pretty 1999, the US Postal Ser- much all of us! vice issued a 48¢ airmail Yes, like (hopefully) all of stamp, Scott #C133, de- you, I’ve been wearing a mask for picting Niagara Falls. It the past 15+ months (but not in my was the first of the “Scenic own house as shown in this posed American Landscapes” photo). On the left I’m wearing a series of stamps. homemade mask from one of my When we were living in Pittsburgh back in the family members (made in early 1980’s, we decided to drive up to Toronto, Ontario for a 2020). While pretty, because it’s weekend getaway. Niagara Falls was on the way, so we basically cotton, I later switched to decided to stop and check them out. The falls, which are wearing mostly a “KN95” mask as located on the Niagara River, separate the twin cities of it provides more protection. Niagara Falls, New York, which is 17 miles north/ And yes, I know that northwest of Buffalo, New York, and Niagara Falls, On- “KN95” masks are from , tario, which is 75 miles south/southwest of Toronto. unlike the USA-made “N95” Niagara Falls is actually a group of three water- masks, but unfortunately, it was falls. They are located at the southern end of Niagara virtually impossible to find N95 Gorge, spanning the border between Canada and the masks as they all (rightfully) went USA. Horseshoe Falls is the largest of the three. It is to first responders and essential also known as Canadian Falls since it is on the Canadian hospital staff. side of the border. The American Falls and Bridal Veil The picture to the left Falls are smaller and are on the American side of the shows me wearing the type of KN95 mask that I usually border. Goat Island separates the Bridal Veil and Horse- wore to stores. shoe Falls. Luna Island separates the Bridal Veil & Of course the big thing starting this year was get- American Falls. ting the Covid-19 vaccination. Due to my age, I wasn’t In the first picture below, you can see the two exactly allowed to be first on the list to waterfalls on the American side. Picture two has me get the vaccine, but did manage to get looking at the water flowing over Horseshoe Falls. an invitation (yes, invitation!) to get the vaccine (Pfizer) at a Baylor-Scott-White facility in early March; so by the end of March, I was fully vaccinated. The Netherlands stamp to the right is the first one that I’ve seen that shows a syringe and thus implies that 2021 will be the year of getting vacci- nated (and less wearing of masks). Now in case you are wondering, what exactly is a “December” stamp? According to Cees Prins of the Netherlands, who sent me this stamp, the Netherlands issues stamps with a lower postage rate that can only be used in December, to facilitate sending of Christmas cards. Hmm, maybe if the USPS did this they could in- crease their volume of 1st Class Mail? … just a thought... My biggest gripe about the masks though, is what I would call “Covid Trash”. The picture to the right shows what I see every day: masks lying on the streets, sidewalks and parking lots (this one was along Murphy Road in Murphy where I often take a daily walk). I mean, do these things simply flutter out of an open car window, or “oops, fell out of the pocket”? There’s already enough trash littering our streets, these shouldn’t have to add to it...

Stamping Around, June 2021 Page 12 Postcrossing by Peter Elias

In June 2021, the Bailiwick of Guernsey (one of the “Channel Islands”) will issue a set of 3 stamps commemorat- ing “Postcrossing”. Some of you may have heard of “Postcrossing”. It is a website where you register Before sending a card, you’re expected to scan the yourself and then you can receive postcards from other people picture side of it and attach the scan at postcrossing.com. around the world. You are also expected to send postcards, so Along with the person’s name & address, you are also given a www.postcrossing.com will send you the name of someone to “card ID number”. When the person receives your card, they’ll send a postcard to. The more you send, the more you will re- enter the card ID number to acknowledge that they’ve received ceive! your card. This is essential in order to using the service. I’ve been a [The stamp image above is from https://www.guernseystamps.com/] member of Postcross- Exp. 12/21 ing for a couple of years, but don’t send out that many cards. Jonathan Topper As you can see, I’ve only sent out 18 cards 10480 Grant Road (1 is currently Suite 117 “traveling” - i.e.: on the Houston, TX 77070 way to someone) and have received 17 myself. Postcards that 832.518.6558 you receive are NOT from the same person that you sent one to. For many people, this is just a one-time thing for each person that you send a card to (or receive one from), but some [email protected] people do state in their profile that they might be interested in corresponding as well from that point forward, and/or trading www.topperstamps.com postcards.

Be sure to visit the Club website on the I n t e r n e t : http://www.mid-citiesstampclub.com For recent online newsletters see http://BetweenThePerfs.com/MCSC (for older newsletters see the club’s private groups.io website)

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Stamping Around, June 2021 Page 13 MEET & EAT for Wanted to Buy June 2021 Texas Precancel Stamps. Contact Rick Howell at by Judy & Stanley Christmas [email protected] 5/19

“Meet & Eats” are held before our club meetings. All club Wanted to buy or trade for: Worldwide unusual EFOs, postal members and their guests are welcome. We will gather at 5:00 counterfeits, Odd US 20th century auxiliary markings, US 1934 PM and start ordering at that time. However, latecomers can and 1935 Christmas Seals on and off cover and publicity mate- order when they arrive or just come by for a visit. Meals should rial, Korean War postal history from US and other UN contin- be over around 6:15 to 6:30 PM with the Arlington new meeting gents, and any other US philatelic material with an interesting start time now being at 7:00 PM rather than 7:30 PM. story. John Hotchner, PO Box 1125, Falls Church, VA 22041, or Meet & Eat locations will be included the club’s broadcast [email protected] 2 /15 messages. NOTE: All locations are subject to change. Various USA Scott #C2 & C3 on covers & cards are --> Official Meet & Eat get-togethers prior to the needed for my U.S Air Mail collection. Please forward club meetings are now starting to resume in-person! scans of the covers / cards along with asking price(s) to Don Jones at [email protected] Thank you. 2/21 ARLINGTON Campo Verde 2918 W Pioneer Pkwy For Sale Dalworthington Gardens, TX 76013 I have over 10,000 auctions on delcampe.com @ 35% of Scott or less. Worldwide & US stamps, covers and FDCs. For more EULESS info contact Denny Ludlow @ (713) 898-1872 10/15 Cheddar’s Restaurant 937 Airport Fwy, Bedford, TX (Phone - 817 540 0778) FREE 111-page (all varieties) or 26-page album (basic ver- sion) of Spanish ATM stamps (provided as a PDF file) with GRANBURY purchase of at least $4.00 in Spanish ATM stamps (which are only 15¢ each!)! Contact Peter Elias at [email protected] 1/21 Grump’s Burgers 3503 E US-377, Granbury, TX 76049 —> YOUR FREE AD COULD BE HERE <— ! (for MCSC club members only)

Mid-Cities Stamp Club “Stamping Around” Newsletter c/o Peter Elias PO Box 940427 Plano, TX 75094-0427

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